


The Hard Way

by theladyseraphina



Category: Avengers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-18 22:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/565863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theladyseraphina/pseuds/theladyseraphina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens to the Black Widow after being bought into SHIELD?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hard Way

She was being punished. She knew it. It was all well and good to change sides, but she now had to go through this… this torture.  
Josh Willcock was a loudmouth braggart who had been recruited from the CIA. How he had survived in the CIA, Natasha had no idea. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut and was constantly talking about his achievements and all he had been through.Grace Stewart and Angela Field were wet behind the ears newbies, recruited straight out of college, and were hanging off Willcock’s every word. The final member of the little group, Liam Burns, had barely glanced around the room before returning to whatever he was doing on his phone.

Orientation and training with the new recruits of SHIELD. Natasha sighed. She had sat quietly through the week’s lectures, going over things she had learned better than the instructors by the time she was fifteen. However, she had a part to play in this, and she supposed she had better show Barton and Coulson that she could do it well.  
The talk amongst the group had drifted into the latest rumours and gossip at SHIELD, and Willcock remarked that he had heard that one of the senior field agents had bought in a dangerous assassin. At that, Burns looked up from his phone. “I heard it was the Black Widow!”

“Who’s the Black Widow?” One of the girls said.  
“She’s a KGB assassin and spy,” Willcock said, and proceeded to tell the group about all the stories he had heard of her.  
Natasha smiled quietly to herself. For the last week, she had been playing the quiet girl, bought in for her skill at languages. Most of the stories that were being told were the standard ones that had been around forever.  
“Agent Barton bought her in,” she said, speaking up for the first time. The group turned to her.  
“What happened to her then?” Stewart said.  
Willcock jumped in “I think she was interrogated.”  
“No,” Natasha said.  
“No?” Willcock said, glaring at the woman who was suddenly taking all the attention.  
“No. It’s worse than that.”

“What’s worse than being interrogated?” said Field.  
“Many things, but in this instance, it’s an undercover operation.”  
Willcock scoffed. “Director Fury wouldn’t send her on an operation when she’s just been brought in.”  
“He would,” said a voice from above them. Natasha watched as the group jumped and looked around wildly for wherever the voice had come from. An air vent cover swung open from the ceiling, and a broad - shouldered man dropped down. “He likes to keep everyone on their toes.” He moved to the front of the room. “I’m Agent Barton.”  
“Hawkeye,” Natasha said, inclining her head. The rest of the group stared as she went to join him.  
“I’m here to introduce you all to your next instructor,” Barton said. “Deception and infiltration. You all need to learn how to be more observant, to know when something isn’t right, and you need to learn how to deceive others and blend in to learn what you want to know.”  
“I was in the CIA!” Willcock said. “I know all this.”

“You know nothing,” Natasha said, and he turned to glare at her. “My name is Natasha Romanova, and I’ve been with you all week. None of you picked up that there was anything different about me.”  
Clint grinned at her and strolled to the door. “Good luck, Black Widow.”  
The recruits made loud noises until Natasha glared at them. “As I said, my name is Natasha Romanova, codename Black Widow, and I’m here to teach you.”  
She sighed. Torture she could handle, but teaching new recruits? Director Fury was making her earn his trust the hard way.


End file.
